Somerset dad facing difficult summer as food larder donations plunge

“If this trend keeps happening one or two years down the line, I don’t know,” she said.

“We can’t keep buying food [and] if people can’t afford to donate the food then we’ll struggle.”

Loki Stokes, the food bank’s food logistics manager, added that he has “never seen our stock this low”.

“We try to hold a week’s buffer across all nine outlets, but this summer that’s getting hard to promise,” he said.

A Somerset Council spokesperson said the authority recognised that many households continue to face financial pressures due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.

“These pressures will increase for many families over the summer holidays.

“The three years of government funding provided through the Crisis and Resilience Fund enable us to build on our strong partnerships with organisations across Somerset, helping to ensure that residents who need support can access it close to where they live,” they added.